


Patience with the Patients

by DeafAndDaring



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:21:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29576733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeafAndDaring/pseuds/DeafAndDaring
Summary: Summary: Nurse Y/n is tasked to look over a John Doe coma patient. When he wakes up three weeks later, she falls. hard. But when his fiancé shows up to take him home, will she be left broken hearted?Characters: Bucky, Reader, NatashaA/n: Used a list of hospital prompts and a Prompt for my SSB board in part 2! (”I can see the gears turning. Oh they’re malfunctioning. They’re on fire.”)
Comments: 1





	1. John Doe

You sighed as you swiped your badge on the units door, taking another long sip of your coffee. Walking to the desk, you quickly tossed your bag under it and logged in, pulling up patient charts for the night. You glanced at the screen, waving to Derrick as he passed you on his rounds, scanning through the charts.

“You’re here!” Jessica, the day nurse smiled, coming to you with patient binders. 

“Hey J, Thanks so much for covering while I was in class. I’ll take two hours from your morning.” You smiled, spinning to look at her.

“You better. I have to take the tots to preschool.” She smirked, taking a sip of your coffee and pulling charts. “These two, beds 1 and 3, are being discharged and then held empty for heart surgeries in the morning, ETA 9a. Bed 4 is going to rehab down the road. Sweet woman, knee replacement. Transport has been called and report given to dispatch, they should be here any moment.”

You nodded, scanning through her notes from entry that weren’t in the system yet. 

“And lastly, bed 2.” She handed you the chart, looking sadly at it.

“Who’s in Bed 2?” You asked, scanning the entry sheet. “Coma admission?”

“John Doe. Poor thing’s an amputee of the left arm with scars covering most of his chest from it. Someone dropped him, bloody, in the ER and left before he was even admitted.” Jessica paused lost in thought. “Only just got a line in, fluids. Seems to be stable.”

“Thanks Jessica. Enjoy your night.” You smiled at your friend, taking the charts and heading to the Bed 1 for your round.

Beds 1 and 3 signed their discharge paperwork and had family assist them in leaving. The transport team showed up while you were chatting briefly with Bed 4, you told them what they needed and helped transfer her to their stretcher with her belongings. You stripped the rooms quickly for cleaning to come in and headed to Bed 2, your only patient. 

The figure in the bed barely resembled a man, mud and bloody bandages covering his body, his hair matted and an unruly beard. You sighed, going to the supply room and grabbing the things you would need, stopping at the linens cart to grab fresh sheets and towels as well. Pulling up the side table, you laid everything out and filled a basin with warm water.

“No wonder no one identified you.” You murmured softly, wetting one of the towels. “We can’t see past this mess. Don’t worry, I’ve got you now.” 

You set to work, cleaning the mud out of his long brunette hair and trimming his beard of the matted parts. You changed bandages as you went, making notes of all injuries and their conditions for the next nurse. A knock on the door made you stop, looking over the new man before you.

“I figured I’d find you in here.” Derrick said softly, coming to join you as you cleaned up all the soiled supplies. “Wow, he looks a lot better.”

“Just doing my part.” You smiled, turning the lights back to dim in the room. “I had the time.” 

“Speak of time, grab a bite with me?” Derrick asked, following you out of the room.

“Always.” 

_______

John Doe remained unidentified for the next three weeks. No one claimed a missing persons report, and though his wounds healed abnormally fast, he was not getting any better. Starting at the one week mark, he began having what looked like localized seizures, but all scans and tests came up negative for anything wrong with him. Because of this, whomever was on his case had him alone, and you requested to stay on the case. 

Night after night, you curled into the chair beside his bed, watching his monitors and working on your schoolwork. You yawned, the words on the page blurring together with your notes. The clock read 0200am, you set the books down thinking of going to grab a bite and stretch your legs. You saw Derrick leaving his patients room and smiled, heading for the door.

A monitor tone stopped you dead in your tracks, and you moved quickly back to the patient. You checked his IV, everything running properly. The heart rate increased, and you prepared for another seizure, grabbing the medication that would need to be administered. The jerking never came. You waited for five minutes on high alert, eyes flickering up to his face. Bright grey eyes looked back at you, groggy, but looking panicked. His hand moved up towards his mouth, reaching for the tube. 

“Okay, It can come out, just give me a second.” You said softly, grabbing a pair of gloves and sitting him up slightly. “This will feel odd, okay? On the count of three. One. Two. Three.” You pulled the tube out quickly, turning off the ventilator and grabbing a glass of water. His hand met yours quickly, taking the glass readily.

“ **You gave me quite the scare.** ” you smiled softly, standing close. He looked around the room slowly, no response on his face. “I’m Y/n, I’ve been your primary night nurse since you came to us. Can you tell me your name?” 

“James.” He said after a moment. It was rough and quiet, and he cleared his throat softly. “James Barnes.”


	2. Awake

“Well James, It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m going to go let them know you’re awake, and I’ll be right back to answer any questions you may have, okay?”

He nodded and you stepped quickly out of the room.

“Bored of studying? Derrick asked, looking up from where he lounged at the desk.

“He’s awake.” You said quickly, pushing Derricks feet off the desk and signing into the computer. “Name’s James Barnes.”

You put the name in the system, receiving no hits in the database. You typed in different spellings, even just “J. Ba” and still, nothing. Derick rubbed your back, a sad look on his face.

“Good luck.” he whispered, handing you the chart and kissing your cheek on his way to his rooms. 

You smiled softly, making a note in the chart of the increased heart rate, time awoken, and extubation. Closing the book, you carried it back into the room.

“Okay, Mr. Barnes. I’m all yours. Do you have any questions for me?” You smiled as you walked in.

“Were you studying in here?” James smirked, eyes locked on yours. Your cheeks tinted pink as you nodded. 

“You’re my only patient, and after the first week of you being here, It was nice to have company.” You shrugged.

“First week... How long have I been here?” He asked, looking down as though calculating. 

“Just over three weeks ago, you were dropped in our ER unconscious covered in mud and bruises. You’ve been in a coma ever since.” You said, moving to sit in the chair beside his bed. “I have every detail in this chart, if you’d like.”

“Please.” James nodded. You read him every line of the chart, pausing and answering questions as they were asked. At the end, he sat quietly for a few moments, then looked up at you with a smile. “So that’s my story, what’s yours?”

___________-

“ **Stop messing with your IV.** ” You heard Jessicas voice as you came in the next night. Dropping your bag, you went into the room with a roll of your eyes.

“Y/N!” Bucky said cheerfully. “Thank the Gods,  **I think my nurse is trying to kill me.** ” 

“Oh is she?” You smirked, pulling on gloves and moving to his side. “I think if she wanted that, you’d be dead already. So what’s the real problem?”

“ **This IV Itches.** ” Bucky pouted, holding up his arm. “I’d scratch it if I could but.” He looked down then back at you with a smile.

“Well, you have to have an IV, so your choices are that one in your arm with a new sticker, one in your hand, or your neck.” Jessica sighed. “And this has to be resolved before I can leave you with Y/n.”

Bucky looked between the two of you, seeming to contemplate.

“I’d go with the new sticker if I were you.” You whispered in his ear, Jessica already grabbing a new one and the alcohol to dissolve the old one. You pat Bucky on the shoulder. “I’ll be back. Let Jessica finish and come tell me about her day with you, and I’ll be in.” 

“Oh, I’ve been an ass.” Bucky said smugly.

“I’m sure you have.” You rolled your eyes, going back out to the desks. You signed in, reading her chart notes with a grin.

“You two sure are chummy.” Jessica said coming to join you. “What did I miss? Do you know him?” 

“No, we just talked a lot last night after he woke up. He’s quite charming.” You smiled at her.

“Well, He was a smug pompous ass all day for me.” She rolled her eyes. “Need anything?” 

“Nope, I think I’ve got it.” You clicked out, taking the chart from her. “Oh, did anyone claim him yet?” 

Jessica shook her head no as she gathered her things from the table. You smiled, waving goodbye and walking into James' room.

“ **_I can see the gears turning. Oh they’re malfunctioning. They’re on fire._ ** ” Bucky said as you ame in.

“Yes, they are. I can not imagine that Jessica had the same Patient I had last night. You must have taken out that James and replaced it with the one before me.” You said with exasperation. “Now, tell me. How do you feel tonight?”

“Well,  **I’m pretty sure this place is haunted.”** Bucky teased. “See, you look like y/n. You sound like y/n.”

“Mmhmm.” You smiled, listening to him.

“But the y/n I know always has a textbook nearby.” Bucky finished.

“Well, I guess that makes two of us seeing a mirage.” You teased. Bucky laughed, a low hearty sound. “I’m glad you are feeling better. In fact, if your vitals remain stable, I see no reason you can’t go home at the end of the week.”

“Good to know.” Bucky said softly.

“Very good.”


	3. The Truth

The end of the week came, but Bucky was far from leaving. You felt bad, as he would pass out at random points in time, it was unsafe to let him go on his own. You swiped back into the unit after a break, coffee in hand. You were walking towards Bucky's door to check if he was awake again, only to hear two voices in the hall.

**“I keep telling them I’m fine. I can go home!”** Bucky's voice rang out in a harsh hushed tone. 

**“You’re not fine. You need rest.”** A soft female voice spoke. “You said it yourself that you were falling asleep in the middle of conversations.” 

“ **This machine makes me feel out of it.** ” Bucky replied.

“It does not. I know when you’re lying James.” The female voice responded.

“Okay Nat, okay.” 

**“It’s just a few more days, then I’ll take you home.”**

You moved away, heading directly to where Derrick sat at the computer. 

“Who is that, in James’ room?” you asked, sitting beside him. 

“Her name is Natalia Rushman. Claims to be his Fiance. She had pictures, ID, and medical history for him, and he knew who she was when we asked him her name.” Derrick said softly. “Finally, someone found him.”

“Yeah, someone found him.” You tried not to let the hurt show through, but Derrick always knew you better than anyone else.

“Hey, we knew he had a life. Someone was out there looking for him. You can’t go falling for your patients.” Derrick said softly, making you look at him. He squeezed your shoulder before you stood up. 

“Guess I need to introduce myself.” You smiled softly, standing up. You walked towards his room with less enthusiasm than before and knocked softly on the doorframe.

“Hey, Y/n.” Bucky smiled. “How was the food?”

“Worse than what you had.” You smiled, reaching out your hand. “Hi, I’m Y/n, James head night nurse.”

“Natalia Rushman.” The redhead smiled, shaking your hand. “I’m so glad you found him, we’ve been in pieces.”

“We are glad we could return your Fiance to you.” You smiled softly at her. “I’m sure they told you he’s been falling asleep at random points, which was concerning to us for releasing him. We wanted to keep him a few more days of observation, but if it’s just fatigue, you can take him home.”

“Of course. Thank you.” Nat smiled, taking hold of Bucky's hand. “Like she said, a few more days.” 

You refused to look at Bucky, afraid your resolve was slipping. “I have a couple more patients to check on. If you need anything, just press the button or come find me.” You slipped quietly from the room and went back to your spot beside Derricks computer silently.

_________

*Buckys POV*

Bucky watched as you left quickly, and very out of character. He looked at Nat with all the new information and slapped her lightly.

“You told them you were my Fiance?!” He whispered.

“How else was I supposed to come get you?” she responded with an eyeroll. “I needed something. I already sent Bruce everything from your files, so we can get you out of here and back to the compound. Shuri will meet us there to replace your arm.”

“Did she find the other one?” Bucky asked, still upset.

“Yes, we found it just before we found you. Speak of, do you know how generic the name James Barnes is?” Nat asked, propping her feet up on the bed.

“Well, I couldn’t very well give them my middle name, could I?” Bucky sassed, laying back. It was quiet for a while as he laid there. “I’m still mad at you for ruining my chances with the hot Nurse.”

“You like her?” Nat asked softly, laying her head over in the recliner to look at him.

“I do.” Bucky sighed. “And then my Fiance showed up.” 

_____

*Y/n POV*

“Well, Mr.Barnes. Tonight was your last night with us.” You said softly, passing him his discharge paperwork. “Where did Natalia go?” 

“Oh, to arrange our travel.” Bucky said dismissively, pulling his shirt over his head. “Y/n, aren’t we past the whole last name thing? You’ve been stuck with my ass for the past two weeks awake, and three weeks before that unconscious.”

“Well, Mr. Barnes, I’m not sure if that makes us any more than Nurse and Patient.” You said softly, taking his vitals one more time.

“What if I told you a secret?” Bucky mused, poking your hip. “Come on, you haven’t been the same since...” Bucky trailed off, shaking his head slightly. He patted the side of the bed, instructing you to sit beside him. 

You pulled up the chair beside where he sat, looking at him expectantly.

“A secret for our friendship. Go ahead.” You smiled softly.

“My name is James Buchann Barnes.” He said softly.

“That’s an odd middle name.” you teased. “But that doesn’t make us friends.”

“What if I told you the redhead was not my Fiance?” He asked softly, taking your hand.

“What do you mean?” You looked at your hands intertwined, then back up at him in confusion.

“It’s a cover. You see, her name is Natalia Romanov. She was sent by some of my friends because she isn’t as recognizable as some of the others.” Bucky said softly, taking in your reaction. “Currently, she is at the airstrip preparing to fly our private jet to New York when I get out of here.”

You looked at him, trying to take in the information he was telling you. Recognizable friends, private jet, New York...

“Wait, no.” You said as realization clicked. “You couldn’t possibly mean to say she is-”

“The Black Widow, yes.” Bucky cut you off.

“And that makes you-”

“The fool who fell for this incredibly funny, sassy, nurse who likes to study in her patients rooms.” Bucky said, rubbing his thumb across your knuckles. You looked at him, a soft smile on your face.

“You did?” 

“I did. And I would love for you to come to New York sometime so I can ask you on a proper date.” You looked around the room where you had gotten to know Bucky and sighed. “I’m no longer your patient. I wasn’t once you handed me these forms. Please, Y/n, tell me you will come visit me in New York.”

You looked at Bucky, grey eyes pleading.

“I will most definitely come see you in New York.” 


End file.
